यथाहम् आकाशवपुस् तथैवासौ खरूपिणी । तेन दृष्टा न सा पूर्वदेहेन ललना मया
Just as I possess a form of space, so too does she have a form of ether; therefore, I did not see that woman with her previous body.
अहम् आकाशरूपात्मा सा खमात्रशरीरिणी । जगज्जालं खमात्रं तद् इति तत्र तदा स्थितम्
I am of the nature of space, and she is embodied only as ether here; this web of the world is only ether here—thus it was established there at that time.
शरीरस्थानकरणप्रयत्नप्राणसम्भवैः । यद् उदेति वचो वर्णैस् तत् कुतस् तादृशाकृतेः
Speech, which arises from the combination of body, place, organs, effort, and breath, how could that exist for such a form as this?
रूपालोकमनस्काराẖ कुतो व्योमात्मनाम् इति । ब्रूहि मे भगवंस् तत्र तथावृत्तस्य निश्चयम्
Forms, perceptions, and mental constructions—how could these exist for those whose nature is space? Tell me, O venerable one, the certainty regarding this situation.
रूपालोकमनस्काराश् शब्दपाठवचांसि च । यथा स्वप्ने नभस्य् एव सन्ति तत्र तथाम्बरे
Forms, perceptions, mental constructions, recitation of words, and speech—just as these exist in the sky within a dream, so too do they exist there in the ether.
रूपालोकमनस्कारैस् स्वप्ने चिन्नभ एव ते । यथोदेति तथा तत्र तद् दृश्यं खात्मकं स्थितम्
Forms, perceptions, and mental constructions in a dream exist only in the consciousness-sky; just as they arise there, so too does the seen object, established as of the nature of space.
न केवलं तु तद् दृश्यं यावत् त्वद्विषये वयम् । जगच् चेदं खम् एवाच्छं यथा तन् नस् तथाखिलम्
Not only that seen object, but as far as we are concerned with you, this whole world is pure ether; just as that is, so too is all this.
परमार्थमहाधातुर् वेद्यनिर्मुक्तचिद्वपुः । एवं नाम स्वयं भाति स्वभावस्यैष निश्चयः
The supreme great essence, whose consciousness-form is free from the knowable—thus, it shines by itself; this is the certainty of its own nature.
शरीरस्थानकरणसत्तायां का तव प्रमा । यथैव तेषां देहादि तथास्माकम् इदं स्थितम्
What certainty do you have regarding the existence of body, place, and instruments? Just as those—body and so on—are established for you, so too is this established for us.
यथैव तत् तथैवेदं यथैवेदं तथैव तत् । असत् सत्ताम् इव गतं सच् चासद् इव च स्थितम्
Just as that is, so is this; just as this is, so is that. The unreal appears to have reality, and the real seems to be unreal.
यथा स्वप्ने धराब्ध्यद्रिप्रजाव्यवहृतिर् नभः । तदाद्य चाहं त्वं सा च तद् इदं च तथा नभः
As in a dream, the dealings of earth, ocean, mountains, and beings appear in the sky, so too am I, you, she, and this—all like the sky.
यथा स्वप्ने नृभिर् युद्धकोलाहलगमागमाः । असन्तो ऽप्य् अनुभूयन्ते संसारनिकरास् तथा
Just as in a dream, the coming and going of people, the tumult of battle, though unreal, are experienced, so too are the multitudes of worldly existence.
वक्षि चेत् स्वप्नदृश्या श्रीẖ कस्मात् तद् असमञ्जसम् । अवाच्यम् एतद् धेतुर् हि नान्यो ऽस्त्य् अनुभवस्थितेः
If you say, 'Why is the dream-vision seen?'—that is not reasonable. The cause of this cannot be spoken; there is no other reason for the experience.
कथम् आलक्ष्यते स्वप्न इति प्रष्टुḫ प्रकथ्यते । यथैनं पश्यसीत्य् एव हेतुर् अत्रास्ति नेतरः
If you ask, 'How is a dream perceived?'—it is explained: the only reason is that you see it thus; there is no other cause here.
स्वप्नजन्तुर् इव व्योम्नि भाति प्रथमसर्गतः । प्रभृत्य् एव विराडात्मा खे खम् एव परापरे
Like a dream-creature in the sky, from the very beginning of creation, the cosmic person appears in space—indeed, the higher and lower are only space.
स्वप्नशब्देन बोधार्थं तव व्यवहराम्य् अहम् । दृश्यं त्व् इदं न सन् नासन् न स्वप्नो ब्रह्म केवलम्
I use the word 'dream' for your understanding, but this visible world is neither real nor unreal, nor a dream—it is only Brahman.
अथ राघव सा कान्ता मया कान्तानुषङ्गिणी । संविदं तन्मयीं कृत्वा पृष्टेदं दृष्टरूपिणी
Then, O Raghava, that beloved woman, attached to me, having made her consciousness one with mine, appeared before me in visible form and asked this question.
व्यवहारो यथोदेति स्वप्ने स्वप्नजनैस् सह । तथा तदा तया सार्धं व्यवहारो ममोदितः
Just as interactions arise in a dream with dream-beings, so at that time, my interaction with her arose.
यथैव स्वप्नसङ्काशो व्यवहारẖ खम् एव सः । तथैव त्वम् इमं विद्धि ममात्मानं जगच् च खम्
Just as the dealings in a dream are like empty space, so too, know this: my self and the world are like space.
यथा स्वप्ने जगद्रूपं खम् एवैवम् इदं जगत् । जाग्रदाख्यो महास्वप्नस् सर्गादौ वियदुद्भवः
As in a dream, the world appears as mere space, so also this world, called waking, is a great dream; at the beginning of creation, it arises from space.
स्वप्नो ऽयं जगदाभोगो नकिञ्चिद् वा खम् एव वा । निर्मलं ज्ञप्तितामात्रम् इत्य् असन्मात्रखं स्थितम्
This experience of the world is a dream, or perhaps nothing at all, or only space; it is pure awareness alone, established as the unsubstantial space of non-being.
स्वप्नस्य विद्यते द्रष्टा साकारो युष्मदादिकः । द्रष्टा तु सर्गस्वप्नस्य चिद्व्योमैवामलं स्वतः
In a dream, there is a perceiver with form, such as yourself and others; but the perceiver of the dream of creation is pure consciousness-space, inherently spotless.
यथा द्रष्टामलं व्योम दृश्यं तद्दृग्गतं तथा । स्वप्नरूपं कचत्य् उच्चैर् जगत् तेनामलं नभः
Just as the perceiver is pure space and the seen is dependent on that perception, so the world, appearing as a dream, shines forth through that pure space.
चिद्व्योम्नो ऽनाकृतेस् स्वप्नो हृदि स्फुरति यस् स्वतः । सर्गस् तस्य कुतस् तेन साकृतित्वं कथं भवेत्
When the dream arises spontaneously in the formless consciousness-space within the heart, how can there be creation, and how can it possess any real form?
साकारस्यैव यत् स्वप्नजगत् तद् व्योम केवलम् । निराकारस्य चिद्व्योम्नस् सर्गस्वप्नẖ कथं न खम्
The dream-world of one with form is only space; so why would not the creation-dream of the formless consciousness-space also be mere space?
निरुपादानसम्भारम् अभित्ताव् एव चिन्नभः । पश्यत्य् अकृतम् एवेमं जगत्स्वप्नं कृतं यथा
The sky of consciousness, without any material cause, perceives this uncreated dream-world on the canvas of itself, just as if it were created.
मृद्व्या चिदाकाशमृदा ब्रह्मणा ब्राह्मणेन खे । कृतो ऽपि न कृतस् सर्गमण्डपो ऽक्षगवाक्षकः
Even if the pavilion of creation, with its windows and doors, is said to be made from the clay of consciousness-space by the Brahman, the knower of Brahman, it is not truly made.
नो कर्तृता न च जगन्ति न भोक्तृतास्ति नास्तीति नास्ति न च किञ्चिद् अतो बुधस् सन् । पाषाणमौनम् अवलम्ब्य यथाप्रवाहम् आचारम् आचर शरीरम् इहास्तु मा वा
There is no doership, no worlds, no enjoyership, nothing exists or does not exist; therefore, being wise, remain silent like a stone and act according to the flow of life, whether the body remains here or not.
तव स्त्रिया खरूपेण देहेनाभूत् तया कथा । कथम् उच्चारितास् तत्र वर्णाẖ कचटतादयः
Your story was told with a body in the form of a woman, with a donkey's shape; how, in that state, were the sounds 'ka', 'cha', 'ṭa', and so on uttered?
अथ चेत् स्वप्नवद् वक्षि तत् पृच्छामि तद् अप्य् अहम् । प्रोच्चरन्ति कुतस् स्वप्ने वर्णा यरलवादयः
If you say it was like a dream, I ask you this: in a dream, from where do the sounds 'ya', 'ra', 'la', and others arise?